


Danganronpa: Theme Park of Despair

by AnimationFreak



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimationFreak/pseuds/AnimationFreak
Summary: Airi Yamamoto is invited to Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Sculptor. While ecstatic at first, when she gets there, she passes out and wakes up... in a cat-themed amusement park?! There she meets fifteen others who can only be described as "Ultimate"! The sixteen are thrust into a brand new... killing game! What will happen, and will there be any survivors?
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue 1: Welcome to the Theme Park of Despair

_Hope’s Peak Academy…_ The name alone strikes excitement in the hearts of teenagers across Japan - heck, across the world!

And to be standing in front of the glorious school… _pinch me, I must be dreaming!_

The past few weeks have been super hectic, packing, filling out paperwork, the whole shebang! It was such a shock for me, too, getting a fat letter from Hope’s Peak…

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? Well, I’m Airi Yamamoto, the Ultimate Sculptor!

**= Airi Yamamoto - Ultimate Sculptor =**

While I adored my own work, I never thought it was _Ultimate_ material! I guess all that time working in the studio with Dad has really paid off!

It honestly took a lot of nerve to step into Hope’s Peak, I was just too ecstatic! I was super excited to meet all my classmates, make memories, and start the best years of my life!

….But when I finally stepped through the door, what followed was pain, sadness, and _despair_ …

My vision went blurry and the room began to spin. After that, all I remember is darkness.

***

Airi: Ngh…

What’s going on? Wasn’t I just… In front of Hope’s Peak…? Last thing I remember doing was looking up some of my classmates online, shoving my stuff in the car come morning, and stepping inside…

Airi: Ugh… Where… Huh…?

Had I fallen asleep?

My eyes slowly opened, my eyelids still heavy. My vision is a little blurry, but I can get some kind of grasp; well, as goes for my surroundings.

Everything around me is made of wood… It’s like I’m in some kind of log cabin. Around me are electronics and other miscellaneous things glued to the wall.

Airi: Ngh… Where… Where am I…?

Is this… Hope’s Peak? Am I in some kind of weird janitor’s closet? More importantly...

Airi: _Oh God, did I fall asleep on my first day?!_

Now with adrenaline pushing me up, I jumped off of whatever floor I was laying on and anxiously looked around the classroom.

Whether I was in Hope’s Peak or not, I do, _100%, absolutely, certainly,_ remember the last thing that I was doing was walking into Hope’s Peak.

I took a deep breath and decided to, in-depth, examine my surroundings.

There was a large panel with three red dials on it. There were labels on the end of each, but whatever was written on them previously had been crossed off. On the one wall were a bunch of TVs, all but one was static.

The only working screen seemed to be recording… A young boy. He was just standing there, tapping his foot impatiently.

I decide to check myself for a second before I head out in search of others. I gripped onto my brown apron… Why was I wearing it? Goodness, it must be filthy with clay. I began to fiddle with my long red hair which was left as I had made it - two low ponytails. Underneath my apron was my normal work clothes - white shirt, red skirt. Why wasn’t I wearing my Hope’s Peak uniform? They _did_ send it to me before my first day...

I shake my head. I just decided that my best bet is to leave and see if I can find the boy on the monitor, or anybody else…

Airi: OW!

I had lost my footing as I had collided with something, or, _someone_.

My gaze headed up as I was greeted with… The boy from the monitor!

Monitor boy: Excuse you?

He was looking down at me, but he didn’t look at all angry. As a matter of fact, he just looked tired of my presence.

I scrambled myself together and stood up to face him. He… Looked taller on the monitor. While he wasn’t super short, he was still about an inch shorter than me.

He wore long, black dress pants that fell into fancy, black dress shoes. He had on a white, long-sleeved shirt, with a dull orange vest on top of it that matched his eyes. The vest had three golden buttons holding it together, and a single breast pocket with a gold chain hanging out of it. On his face were a fancy pair of black-rimmed glasses. His midnight black hair was left out, but had one center curl sticking out. Utop his head was an orange bowler hat.

Airi: Oh! Sorry!

Monitor boy: Who are you?

His voice was demanding, however, he had a hint of some phony British accent which was quite humorous to me.

Airi: Sorry, again! I, um! I’m Airi Yamamoto! The Ultimate Sculptor!

The boy had pulled out a pocket watch which was attached to the gold chain. He looked at it, looked up at me, then slammed it shut.

Monitor boy: Well, if you insist.

He put his pocket watch away and stated:

Masakage: My name is Masakage Ueno, and I am known as the Ultimate Billiards Player.

**= Masakage Ueno, Ultimate Billiards Player =**

Billiards, huh? I _think_ I know a bit about him… Well, mainly that he’s good at it, heh. But he _is_ the _Ultimate_ , anybody would have figured out that he’s _good_ at billiards. 

Airi: I can’t say I know much about that.

Masakage: That’s fine. Not everyone follows such a sport.

Airi: Sport?

Masakage: ….

Masakage had just returned to looking at his pocket watch, rather than answer me.

Airi: I… Well, uh!

He eyed me down, as if to examine me more.

Masakage: Now, _Airi_ , do you know where you are?

Airi: Hm… I- Uh… Never really thought about it!

I really hadn’t. This whole thing was way more confusing than I could comprehend.

Masakage: Well, it seems we are at some kind of _theme park_. A twisted one at that.

Airi: A… Theme park?

Now that was _bizarre_!

Airi: I mean… I guess that kind of explains why I woke up in some kind of operating closet… Thing.

Masakage: _Hm?_

Masakage stuttered a bit, but cleared his throat, put his watch away, and straightened his back.

Masakage: Well, I woke up near some cat-themed roller coaster with not another soul in sight.

Airi: I mean, you found me, so there’s bound to be others!

Masakage nodded.

Masakage: Yes. So I plan to search with you.

Airi: W-With me… O-Okay!

Masakage and I searched around aimlessly for about five minutes, and he was right - not another soul in sight. But just as I had begun to grow impatient of mindlessly wandering, we were interrupted by the loud screeching of some kind of instrument and a bellowing voice.

???: Holy shit! Is that a coaster?!

Masakage shut his pocket watch again and looked down at me.

Masakage: I suppose we’ve found another one of our classmates.

Airi: At least it’s someone, even if they are, um… loud?

Masakage: Mhm.

We walked over towards the giant blue cat-coaster. In front of it was the boy who had made the loud exclamation, and another taller boy. The shorter boy (though still taller than Masakage and I), was dressed like a punk, while the taller boy wore a gorgeous scarf and was cowering away from the loud punk - despite the fact that he towered over him.

Punk boy: Haha!! I can’t believe this - you’re fuckin’ hilarious! Tell it again!

Scarf boy: H-Haruo s-s-says s-stop t-teasing h-him...!

The taller boy constantly tripped over his words, but seemed incredibly kind, so I quickly intervened.

Airi: What’s going on here?

The punk boy stopped and stared at me like a deer in headlights.

The scarf boy wore, well, a long and beautiful red scarf that covered his mouth most of the time. He was very pale, and there was a white diamond painted on his forward. Underneath his scarf was a light yellow tank top and he wore long, light brown, khaki pants which fell into knee-high dark brown boots which were laced beautifully with white laces. His outfit was overall incredibly simple, but his hair was what stood out. It was short, with both sides shaved, but had long pieces slicked up and off to the one side; it was a beautiful baby blue color, which contrasted his dull gray eyes. Finally, he had two long dangling earrings that ended with white diamonds with a matching necklace.

The punk on the other hand had short, dark blue hair and had a black-and-red bandana tied around his forehead. His dark blue eyes matched his hair. He wore a gray t-shirt with the logo for the band _Young Love Teenage Lust_ which was bright pink and blue. He had black jeans that we’re torn to shreds and fell into short black boots with a slight heel. Across his waist was a blue belt covered in silver spikes, which matched his blue leather jacket. Utop his shirt was a bright guitar strap that matched his bandana, and on his back was a gorgeous red electric guitar. Both his face and ears were decked out with piercings. I recognized his shirt, and everything about him seemed utterly… familiar.

Masakage: So, who are you two? Hope’s Peak students, I assume?

Punk boy: Yep!

Scarf boy: Mhm!

Masakage: ….

Airi: So, um, what are your names?

Punk boy: Oh!

He clicked his heels together, and suddenly leaped behind me, slamming his hands onto my shoulders.

Airi: Ngh!

Punk boy: So please allow me to introduce myself!

Shuji: Haha! Name’s Shuji Yukimura! Ya might know me as th’ Ultimate Guitarist!

**= Shuji Yukimura - Ultimate Guitarist =**

Airi: No wonder you looked so familiar!

The distinct blue hair, the guitar, the punk t-shirt, how could I _not_ have recognized him?! Shuji Yukimura, or better known simply as “Jet Boy” is known as the guitarist for Young Love Teenage Lust, an outstanding modern Japanese punk band that’s been in the news for its members various controversial antics, and, more recently, the death of its lead singer.

Shuji: So you’ve heard of m’ band?!

Airi: Of course! Wow, you’re like a freaking celebrity! Gosh, I should get your autograph for my big sis!

Shuji: Hell yea!

Masakage: Hm…

Shuji: What’s that about?!

Masakage: A punk rocker? There’s nothing _admirable_ about that. I’m not sure why Airi is fawning over you.

Shuji: Well somebody’s gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

Shuji took a step forward in anger, but I quickly got in between the two.

Airi: H-Hey! This is no time for hostility!

Masakage: ….

Shuji: ….

Airi: Anyway, who’s your friend, um, there, Shuji?

Shuji looked over at the scarf boy and laughed uproariously at him.

Shuji: Oh him? That’s Sister Midnight!

The scarf boy began shaking and clasped his hands together in prayer.

Haruo: N-Name H-H-Haruo…! T-Talent… M-Missionary!

**= Haruo Usui - Ultimate Missionary =**

While he’s not a celebrity, I think I’ve heard of him, too. I’m not sure what religion he follows and teaches, but there’s a rumor that most of his followers only believe the religion because they think he’s cute. It’s…. odd, to say the least.

But I couldn’t help but ask…

Airi: Missionary? So, what religion do you teach? Christianity?

Haruo: No!

His sudden brashness startled me.

Masakage: Then what _do_ you teach-

Haruo: H-H-Haruo t-teach Su-Yo!

Airi: Huh… What’s that?

A grand smile made its way to his face as he clapped his hands together.

Haruo: So Su-Yo is the great goddess above! She saved all Japanese people from evil! She has two daughters who act as guardian angels to everyone - Sa-Ki and So-Young!

Airi: W-What?

I don’t know what was more unnerving about this - the religion himself (and how I’ve never heard of it) or the fact that his Japanese suddenly became perfect as he spoke of his goddesses.

Masakage: Sounds weird.

Haruo: H-H-Huh?!

Shuji suddenly came to the taller boy’s defense.

Shuji: What was that, Rudy?! Well, I’ve got a message for you-

Masakage: Oh, now _you_ must threaten me?

Airi: Masakage! Be nice!

Haruo: H-H-Haruo t-thinks t-that’s s-sweet of S-Shu-

Shuji: Shut it, weirdo! Haha!

He then turned his attention back to Masakage.

Shuji: Sister Midnight over there is lucky I hate you more than I hate him!

Airi: Um…

Haruo: H-Huh?!

Masakage: ….

I just took this as a sign that we’d best be searching for others instead of staying here much longer.

Airi: Well, it was nice meeting you two. Um, I think I forgot to say, I’m Airi Yamamoto - the Ultimate Sculptor. And this is Masakage Ueno, the Ultimate Billiards Player.

Shuji: Nice meeting ya too, Sculptor! You too, Rudy!

Masakage: It’s Ueno to _you_ , punk.

Shuji: What was that?!

Haruo: N-Nice to m-m-meet you t-too!

I gave them both a smile then headed off, nearly grabbing Masakage by the arm so he wouldn’t start a fight with Shuji.

Masakage: That damn Guitarist… nothing but trouble.

Airi: You don’t know that, he could just be putting on an act.

Masakage: I’ve never even heard of his band, but I can tell he’s done nothing _respectable_ to get into Hope’s Peak. At least _I’ve_ won multiple competitions in billiards, pool, and similar games. 

Airi: ….

Airi: At least Haruo seemed nice?

Masakage: ...I would’ve preferred meeting a Jesus freak.

Airi: ….

I held my head low for a few moments as he looked for more classmates. But it didn’t take long, no, to find more Hope’s Peak kids. Three kids were plastered near a bench - two girls and a boy. Both girls were on the taller side (both much taller than Masakage and I), but one clearly stood far above the other. The one girl wore a kimono, the other a white mask. The boy, on the other hand, looked like he was gearing up for a karate match. It looked as if the mask girl was shuddering away from the other two, who were conversing.

Kimono girl: Hm… how depressing, this whole situation is.

Karate boy: Well, whoever it is, I’ll just kick his ass! Simple as that!

Kimono girl: Maybe…? 

As we approached the group, the karate boy suddenly turned his head towards us.

Karate boy: Excuse me?!

I jumped at his sudden introduction.

He was on the taller side, and covered with muscle - but you couldn’t exactly call him _buff_. He wore a light yellow karate uniform that had red kanji written down both sleeves, with a blaring black belt wrapped around his waist. The uniform was tied loosely, revealing his chest. He had dirty light blonde hair that was pushed out of his face by a bandana with the old Japanese flag plastered across it; and his eyes were a bright hazel color that paired nicely with his hair. He didn’t wear any shoes.

Airi: O-Oh, um… Hello!

Karate boy: Who are you?!

Masakage took the reins this time and stepped forward - I think I looked too afraid of the beast standing in front of me, heh.

Masakage: I’m Masakage Ueno, the Ultimate Billiards Player. And that’s the Sculptor.

Airi: A-Airi Yamamoto!

Karate boy: What’s, uh, billiards?

Kimono girl: It’s another name for pool.

Masakage: It is _not_ another name for pool!

Shinobu: Um, let me introduce myself. Name’s Shinobu Anzai. Talent… Ultimate Karate Master.

**= Shinobu Anzai - Ultimate Karate Master =**

Airi: W-Well, it’s nice to meet you, S-Shinobu!

Kimono girl: Isn’t that such an adorable name? Shinobu! I could say it all day long.

Shinobu blushed at her nice comment.

Shinobu: Ah, well, um… I’d prefer a manlier name but…. There’s honor in the Anzai family, so I can’t change my given name.

I guess I must’ve stared at the boy guy for a little too long, cause he looked down at me and said:

Shinobu: ...You’re scared, aren’t you?

Airi: O-Oh me? No, um…

Shinobu: I get it, lots of people are afraid of the Ultimate Karate Master. Not sure why.

Airi: But I think I’ve heard of you - aren’t you online? My brother watches all your Karate videos!

Shinobu: Yea, a lot of young kids think it’s cool.

Airi: He’s fifteen….

Shinobu: Oh…

The Ultimate Karate Master - known online as the Karate King. He teaches many kids how to fight in his privately-owned dojo - alongside hosting online videos so people around the world can learn to defend themselves. He’s won countless competitions, and has even petitioned for karate to make it to the Olympics - where it’s rumored he would win with little to no competition. He’s even had his black belt since he was ten!

Airi: That’s still pretty cool!

Shinobu: Oh, thanks…

The kimono girl stepped up as our conversation began to fade.

She was incredibly beautiful - her long navy blue (almost black) hair was thrown into a high bun with gorgeous and colorful flowers sprinkled throughout it. She was ridiculous pale thanks to makeup - her entire face was covered in powder and she had on bright red lipstick, dark blue eyeshadow - the works. Her nails were painted a gorgeous white. Her long dark blue kimono was covered in flowers and had white detail. Finally, she just wore brown sandals.

Kimono girl: I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? I’m sorry!

She cracked a warm smile.

Hisaya: I’m Hisaya Yokoyama, the Ultimate Geisha.

**= Hisaya Yokoyama - Ultimate Geisha =**

Airi: Oh crap! I’ve heard of you too!

Who hasn’t heard of the Ultimate Geisha?! Famous all over Japan for her stunning performances, she in herself is a tourist attraction. The Yokoyama family is known across the world as one of the last truly traditional families - yet one that dazzles with its spin on the geisha art.

Airi: I think my brother’s even seen one of your shows!

Hisaya smiled and examined me for a few seconds.

Hisaya: Short boy, fiery red hair, always wears a blue hoodie?

Airi: Incredible! How’d you know that?!

Hisaya: I’m the Ultimate Geisha, silly. I’d hope I could remember all my clients.

Airi: That’s… very impressive, heh.

Hisaya: Thank you! You’re such a sweet girl, Airi.

After I met Hisaya, I turned my attention to the other girl.

I had to approach the mask girl on my own accord, she wouldn’t even get near me. I reached my hand out for a shake, but she just put her head down.

Airi: I’m Airi Yamamoto-

Mask girl: I-I heard…

Airi: Well, it’s nice to meet-

Mask girl: P-Please go away! I don’t want your filthy hands near me!

Mask girl: S-Sorry…

This girl was pretty tall, but not as tall as Hisaya. She had short, but very thick, dirty blonde hair that didn’t go farther down than her chin. It was cut very messily - almost as if she did it herself… blindfolded. She had on a red circus too with long, puffy sleeves and blue detail - held together with gold buttons. She wore a red and gold striped skirt, with a little brown belt across her waist. Attached to said belt was a sheathed sword with blue ribbon tied on the handle. She has mismatched, thigh-high socks - one red, one blue, that fell into knee-high white boots. However, the most odd part of her appearance was the white mask she wore - it was plain and uncanny, except for a smiley face painted messily in black paint. Parallel to the sword on her belt was a mask with a sad face.

She began to play with her hair and cleared her throat.

Ayaka: M-My name’s Ayaka Honda. The, um… Ultimate Sword Swallower.

**= Ayaka Honda - Ultimate Sword Swallower =**

Airi: Woah! That’s… kinda freaky - but, um, cool!

Ayaka: ….

The Ultimate Sword Swallower, known across Japan for her incredible acts. She travels with a partner who was rumored to have been invited to Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Juggler, but denied it for some reason. She’s performed ridiculous stunts - most notably one where she set her sword on fire and swallowed it while hanging upside down. It all sounds… pretty spooky to me.

Ayaka: Are you done here?

Airi: I guess I could leave…. um, goodbye?

Ayaka: Bye-bye.

Masakage: ….

I said goodbye to the other two as we headed off to find more students. Ayaka’s rude demeanor has me a little worried, but she could just be scared. I mean…. we all were.

Airi: At least they were better? Hisaya was pretty friendly?

Masakage: ...Still not people I care to befriend.

Airi: …..

We found the next pair of students pretty easily since they were both… very loud. The girl was dressed in an army uniform, while the boy had cat whiskers drawn on his face.

Army girl: Crazy, no way!

Cat boy: Ehehe! It must be true!

Army girl: Same name buddies!

The girl was on the taller side, and wore a camouflage, oversized army uniform with various patches hodged-podged about it; the matching pants fell into black combat boots. On her neck was a gorgeous silver whistle. She had freckles that hid underneath her thick square glasses. She had beautiful orange hair that fell to her waist and dazzling blue eyes. On her back was a humongous brown backpack stuffed to the brim with god-knows-what, but sticking out of it was a large Japanese flag. 

The boy, on the other hand, was about the same height as I. He had dark brown hair that was spiked up, revealing his beautiful silver earrings - one the silhouette of a person, the other of a hammer. Each hand was covered in miscellaneous rings. He wore a white dress shirt with a loose black tie with three purple hearts on it. He had on a purple bomber jacket that matched his bright purple eyes; finally, his blue jeans fell into purple sneakers. But what truly stood out about him was the out-of-place car whiskers drawn on his face.

The girl approached us first.

Army girl: New people!! How great!!

Did she… always speak so loudly and enthusiastically? She immediately marched up to us and put her hand out for a shake.

Girl Kaoru: Name’s Kaoru Nakahara! It’s wonderful to meet you two!

Masakage just rolled his eyes at her, unintentionally inviting the cat boy to step forward to us.

Boy Kaoru: And I’m Kaoru Oshiro!

Airi: Two… Kaorus?

I looked back and forth between the two, but Girl Kaoru laughed it off kindly.

Nakahara: Ah, don’t sweat it! Just call me Nakahara! That’s what my coaches and coworkers call me anyway!

Airi: That… makes things easier, thanks!

Nakahara: No problem, no problem!!

Masakage: ….So, what do you two do?

Nakahara: I save lives!!

Kaoru: Oho, me too!

Nakahara lowered her voice, pushed up her glasses, and cleared her throat.

Nakahara: …In different ways.

Masakage tapped his foot and fiddled with his pocket watch as he grew more impatient with these two.

Masakage: So… What are your talents?

Nakahara: Talent? Oh, I’m very sorry!! I’m the Ultimate Lifeguard!!

**= Kaoru Nakahara - Ultimate Lifeguard =**

Kaoru: And I’m the Ultimate Lawyer!

**= Kaoru Oshiro - Ultimate Lawyer =**

I… didn’t really expect those talents from them; I honestly thought they were the Ultimate Army Recruit and Cat Whisperer… or something.

But I think I know a bit about these two… the Ultimate Lifeguard has saved well over 200 lives and has worked everywhere from senior pools to the Pacific during major hurricanes.

The Ultimate Lawyer, on the other hand, has extremely extensive knowledge on all things law-related and has argued in dozens of court cases. Working at one of the most prestigious law firms in all of Japan, he even once saved a guy who was accused of double homicide from the electric chair…. It’s not what I expected from the little cat boy standing in front of me.

Nakahara: Just don’t worry, you two!! I’m here to protect you from whatever brought us here!

Kaoru: Oh, what if the kidnapper pours acid all over that beautiful head of yours?

Nakahara: I’ll destroy him before he can try!! Hiyah!!!!

Airi: W-Wait… kidnapper?!

Kaoru: How else did you think we got here, girlie?

Airi: I-I don’t know…

Masakage: ….

Nakahara: It looks like they kidnapped the entire Hope’s Peak class! That would mean there’s sixteen of us here!!

Airi: Sixteen…. That means I have a lot more introductions to get through… But, um, thanks!

Nakahara shot me a smile, revealing a large gap in her front teeth, and gave a thumbs-up.

Nakahara: No problem!!

Kaoru: Sixteen Ultimate students! It’s a serial killer's dream! Oh, I wonder what dark backstories our classmates are hiding! Like the Sculptor, for example - oh, what isolated starving artist could you be hiding behind that facade of sweetness? How dark is your backstory?

Airi: My backstory…? I’ve had a pretty happy childhood, sorry.

Kaoru: Boo…

After I had… “disappointed” Kaoru with my lack of a dramatic backstory, Nakahara blew her whistle loudly, causing Masakage to flinch.

Masakage: Hey!

Nakahara: Now let’s disperse!! Off to meet everyone and figure out what’s going on!! Just don’t worry! If anything happens, I will guide and defend you!!

Kaoru: And I will help if there’s any trials!

Masakage: ….Why would there be any trials here?

Kaoru just smiled devishly and shrugged his shoulders.

Nakahara: Well, goodbye you two!!

Airi: Bye!

I nudged Masakage.

Masakage: ….Whatever, bye.

Nakahara waved grandly as we walked off, in search of other students. She said there were sixteen of us in total…. So that means I still have seven introductions to get through…

_Oh goodness…_

Masakage: At least those two will prove to be… somewhat useful, with their talents.

Airi: And they seem pretty friendly?

Masakage: The girl looks like she wants to take charge, but the boy… He’s on another planet, it seems.

Airi: ….

It didn’t take much more searching for us to find two students hanging out by these empty food venues - a country-looking boy and a girl in a lolita dress.

Country boy: So that’s what ya think is happenin’?

Lolita girl: I mean, it makes the _most_ sense.

Airi: Excuse us?

Country boy: Hm?

The two looked over at us, the girl taking a step towards us.

Lolita girl: Any of you know what the hell is going on?

Masakage: No, but we _do_ know we are at some kind of… _Theme park_.

Country boy: I mean, even an idiot coulda pointed that out.

Nyoko: Yea… But anyway! Introductions are pretty important, aren’t they? I’m Nyoko Takahashi, the Ultimate Physicist!

**= Nyoko Takahashi - Ultimate Physicist =**

She politely put her hand out.

I reached out to shake Nyoko’s hand, but was instantly greeted with a _shock_.

Airi: Ah! Ow!

Nyoko: Wow, you’re so easy!

She then just proceeded to laugh at me.

Nyoko: Ah, I’m sorry! Haha!

Airi: Uh, yea, ha…

The Ultimate Physicist - a young woman who has published multiple scientific papers her first few years of high school and has solved complex physics problems, but suddenly dropped off the face of the science world. No one’s sure why, but most speculate that she simply lost interest - while others believe she’s died or been abducted by aliens. ….I’m not sure where those rumors stemmed.

After that initial shock, literally, I examined Nyoko’s attire.

She was a bit taller than me, and had tan skin and bright green eyes. She wore a bright pink Lolita dress with puffy, short sleeves, covered with white bows - one per sleeve, and multiple covered her dress. On her neck was a pink choker with a big white bow on it. She had thigh-high pink socks that fell into a pair of beautiful short white boots. She had on a white belt with two…

Airi: Are those guns?!

Thank goodness Nyoko didn’t take any offense to that. She just pulled out one of the twin pistols.

Nyoko: These don't do anything.

She fired it, but all it did was make a loud noise and produce a red flag that boldly read _“BANG!”_

Nyoko: They’re just for show and fun and stuff.

Airi: Oh.

Besides the guns, I never got to mention Nyoko’s bizarre pink hair. It was thrown into twin buns, with these long bangs falling down around her shoulders. In her buns though were… A set of white bunny ears - a pair per bun.

I didn’t even question it.

Masakage pointed to the shorter boy standing with Nyoko.

Masakage: And who is _that_?

Nyoko: That’s my childhood friend!

Hansuke: Name’s Hansuke Ikeda, Ultimate Storyteller.

**= Hansuke Ikeda - Ultimate Storyteller =**

Airi: Storyteller? That’s… Kinda neat!

The Ultimate Storyteller? A household name for those with young children, he’s told crazy epics and even dumbed-down many of his works and published them for children. He’s written and told some pretty impressive folktales - many are even believed to become household classics within the next few years.

Hansuke just shook his head.

Hansuke: Nah, there ain’t nothin’ special ‘bout my talent.

Nyoko: What do _you_ mean?! Hansuke here is a-ma-zing with stories!

Hansuke turned a little red at the compliment.

Hansuke: Nah, you’re flatterin’ me too much.

Something about Hansuke looked awfully familiar, other than the fact he was an Ultimate…

He was pretty short, but was completely made of muscle - a buff dude, I guess you could say. He wore a red-plaid shirt and had a blue bandana around his neck. He had dark hair that matched Shuji’s. However, his bangs were tilted away to cover his right eye, and the top of his hair looked to form two… devil horns? I’m not sure how to describe them. His eyes were a dark blue, again like Shuji’s. He had a cut on his face, and his left arm was just a sleeve of colorful tattoos. He wore blue jeans that fell into brown farm boots. He also had a big straw hat attached to his back, but I’m not sure he ever wore it. 

Airi: You look… Really familiar.

Masakage: Have you met the _Guitarist_?

Hansuke nodded.

Hansuke: Oh yea, been told I look a lot like some Tokyo-born guitar player. Can’t say I know much of ‘im, but I’ve been mistaken for ‘im before.

Airi: That must be weird. You don’t even look _that_ similar.

Hansuke: Not really, but it’s kinda funny.

Masakage: Hm, at least someone here has a more _tasteful_ sense of humor.

He glared over at Nyoko, who just laughed him off.

Nyoko: You better watch out Mr. Fancypants! I have a bucket of water just beckoning for you!

Masakage: Is that a _threat_?

Airi: Um! Anyway! I’m Airi Yamamoto, I forgot to say that. I’m the Ultimate Sculptor.

Masakage pushed up his glasses.

Masakage: Hm! I’m Masakage Ueno, the Ultimate Billiards Player.

Hansuke: Well it was nice meetin’ the both of ya. 

Airi: You too!

Masakage: We’ll see you around. You two can return to your _reminiscing._

Nyoko: Reminiscing…?

Hansuke: Y’all can just go, we’ll keep doin’ what we were doin’ before.

Anyone could feel the tension between these two and Masakage, so, again, it was my job to quickly end the encounter.

Airi: L-Let’s just go Masakage!

Masakage: Fine. We best be off.

Airi: Y-Yea, bye!

Hansuke nodded, and Nyoko waved goodbye.

Airi: Ugh…

Masakage: Hm?

Airi: N-Nothing!

It took about ten minutes of wandering to find more people.

We found the next two students standing behind one of the coasters, nearly out of site. They were very eccentric-looking and nearly unapproachable. But I swallowed hard and forced Masakage to help me greet the scrawny goth boy and the animal-esque girl. 

Goth boy: …So you’re...a Hope’s Peak… student too, huh?

Animal girl: Mhm. I think everyone here is. But I have yet to introduce myself to many others.

Goth boy: ….

The boy was a bit shorter than I and was incredibly thin. He had short, yet incredibly thick, midnight black hair that covered his right eye; thin-rimmed circular glasses laid across his face, covering his deep purple eyes. He wore goth makeup, which complimented his incredibly pale skin. He wore a cream-colored dress shirt with the collar popped; it was covered with various music notes and symbols that I didn’t really understand. His thin black pants fell into white sneakers. He stood very stiffly, yet seemingly couldn’t stand up straight. 

The girl had a more outlandish get-up. She was a bit smaller than me, yet stood very proud. She had crazy long brown, curly hair that fell all the way down to her ankles. She had dark skin, and contrasting bright, red eyes; one was covered with a black eye-patch. She had black suspenders with cartoonish snakes running up and down each side; it covered a white shirt with images of a myriad of different colorful animals. The suspenders fell into a matching black short skirt. She wore an oversized, puffy jacket that was covered in red tiger print and has a hood with little ears attached to it. She had two short black boots, with mix-matched red and black socks coming out of them; one was covered in dogs, the other cats. But what stood out the most was a terrifying creature wrapped around her neck.

Airi: I-Is that a snake?

Animal girl: Hm? Oh yea.

She practically mumbled her words as he patted the animal on the head a few times; it looked calmly over at me and fell asleep on the girl. Despite that, Masakage looked genuinely terrified of the thing. 

Masakage: G-Get that thing away from me….!

Animal girl: Don’t worry about Seiko, she doesn’t bite.

Airi: A-Anyway… My name is Airi Yamamoto, Ultimate Sculptor. And this is Masakage, the Ultimate Billiards Player.

She paused for a moment, as if to contemplate what I had just said.

Karishma: I’m Karishma Yoshida, Ultimate Zoologist. It’s nice to meet you two.

**= Karishma Yoshida - Ultimate Zoologist =**

Masakage: Hm… Well, at least you’re a more respectable person than some of the _others_ we’ve met.

Airi: H-Hey! Be nice!

Airi: But, I think I’ve heard of you before…

The Ultimate Zoologist… like other Ultimates, has published multiple papers, however what makes her stand out in zoology is her ability to train any animal and her overwhelming activism for animal rights. She's gone above and beyond to protect endangered species and is practically an animal whisperer.

Karishma: …..

But just like that, she shut down… almost literally. She stood blankly at the floor for a few seconds. I bent down a little and waved my hand in front of her face for a few seconds.

Airi: ...Is everything alright?

Goth boy: ...Just wait…. a second…

Masakage: What?

Airi: Huh-

Karishma suddenly jumped up excitedly, pumped her fists in the air, and woke the beast on her shoulders which promptly began hissing at me.

Karishma?: Hey!!!

Masakage: Ngh!

Masakage jumped back, hiding behind me from the creature. Karishma stared at me curiously and smiled gleefully, revealing two grizzly fangs.

Karishma?: Who are you?

Airi: I-

Karishma?: I’m Kaia!! I love turtles and cute animals and apples!!!

Kaia: You have apples?

Airi: H-Huh?!

I took a few steps back from her as the boy chuckled softly under his breath.

Goth boy: ...It’s like an old horror trope… Cool…. Huh?

Karishma, or Kaia, or… whoever, shook her head and began to play with her hair. Her expression settled down and turned very thoughtful.

Karishma: Please excuse her, Kaia’s a bit rambunctious, but… she’s my best friend.

Masakage: Ah…

Masakage continued to cower behind me from the small girl - I guess the King of Cool was no match for the eccentric Ultimate Zoologist. But what was this? Another personality? Karishma seems very cool and collected while Kaia is just like a child.

Airi: U-Um…

I decided it was best to ignore her for a little bit and turn my attention to the goth boy.

Airi: Anyway, um… Who are you?

The goth boy scratched his head and murmured something incoherent.

Riku: ...Oh, sorry… I’m Riku Morishita…. the Ultimate Composer….

**= Riku Morishita - Ultimate Composer =**

I think I’ve heard of him, too. He’s written crazy symphonies in mere hours, and has scored various types of movies - from suspenseful horror flicks to dramatic romance movies. His ability to write music is insane, almost everyone has heard at least _one_ of his songs, even if they aren’t aware that it’s him.

Airi: Composer? That’s…. so cool!

I’ll admit, it’s incredibly hard to be enthusiastic with these two, even though their accomplishments are incredible.

Riku: ...Mhm…

Masakage backed off of me and swallowed hard, composing himself. He pushed up the rim of his hat and pulled out his pocket watch.

Masakage: So, you write music? Perhaps I’ve heard one of your pieces?

Riku: ...Many classic pieces… stuff for movies… mostly string stuff… maybe a horn or two... just not piano….

No matter what Riku was saying, it was really unnerving. 

Riku: ...You may recognize… the climax music in… _Tokyo Witches_ …

Masakage slammed his pocket watch shut as his eyes widened in… excitement?

Masakage: That-

Airi: That was you?!

Riku cracked a very slight smile for a second, then looked down in embarrassment. Masakage cleared his throat and pushed his hat down.

Masakage: I, um… really like that movie.

Riku: ….Thanks… me too…

The conversation fell to silence after that, as Riku and Karishma exchanged awkward looks, almost signaling for us to leave.

Airi: W-Well, we best be going. It’s good to introduce ourselves to everyone! G-Goodbye!

Karishma: It was nice meeting you, see you later.

Kaia: Bye-bye!!

Riku: ...Goodbye…

Masakage: ….

These two really creeped me out. I really hope it was just a bad first impression… If not, we may have some trouble with them.

Airi: They seemed, um… nice?

Masakage: I cannot bring myself to trust that girl with that…. beast she carries around. But…. I suppose Riku is not half bad.

Airi: Huh.

Well, I will admit it was pretty surprising that Masakage called one of our classmates by name. We talked a bit more about Riku’s scores, until we fell into silence.

Masakage: ….

Airi: What’s wrong?

Masakage: Hm…

Masakage stopped in his tracks and took off his hat.

Masakage: How many more introductions do we have left?

I began to count on my fingers as I recalled everyone we had met so far.

Airi: Should be… Three.

Masakage put his hat back on and sighed.

Masakage: These classmates of ours… Degenerates. Why must we be trapped in a _theme park_ with _them_?!

Airi: I…

Masakage removed his hat again and was squeezing the rims. He clenched his teeth as tears began to well in his eyes.

Airi: Are you alright?

He put his hat on, sniffed, and wiped his eyes quickly.

Masakage: I’m fine. I just refuse to associate with such… _fiends_ with useless talents.

I noticed his hands shaking as he began to walk faster in search of other students. I could only imagine what was going through his mind. 

...Probably what was going through all our heads. But… now’s not the time to ruminate on that. I still have to find the rest of the students and figure out what’s going on here.

It took a few more minutes of aimless and silent wandering to find another student.

There was a tall boy lying asleep on one of the park benches. He had light green hair with long and messy bangs; in the back, his long hair was thrown into a… well, I’m not sure how to explain it, but it looks like he had a giant pinwheel with four sides on the back of his head. He had horrendous bags under his eyes, and a single gold-chained earring with a pink heart at the end of it. He wore a blood red yukata with orange details, and on his right breast was an embroidered pink heart with an orange slash through it. On his feet were traditional brown sandals.

I took the initiative and approached the boy.

Airi: E-Excuse me?

The boy gently got up and opened his eyes, revealing a dim orange color. He looked like he hadn’t slept for weeks, and as he rose, I noticed his hands shaking ever so slightly.

Pinwheel boy: Hm?

He sat up and placed his hands in his lap; his eyes gazed lackadaisically between Masakage and I.

Pinwheel boy: Hm… I fell asleep again?

Masakage: Are you a Hope’s Peak student?

Pinwheel boy: Mhm. My apologies. Who are you?

Masakage: ….

Airi: M-Masakage! Um! I’m Airi Yamamoto, Ultimate Sculptor.

I elbowed Masakage.

Masakage: Masakage Ueno. Ultimate Billiards Player.

Pinwheel boy: What interesting talents, Miss Yamamoto, Mister Ueno.

Airi: And who are you?

Pinwheel boy: Oh, my apologies, Miss Yamamoto.

He stood up, his balance unsteady, and yawned. He was… very tall, almost scarily so.

Yoichiro: I’m Yoichiro Fukui. Ultimate Herbalist.

**= Yoichiro Fukui - Ultimate Herbalist =**

...I can’t say I know much about the Ultimate Herbalist. I heard of a mysterious young man who sold spices that could apparently cure the craziest of ailments, but not much else. Who was this guy?

Masakage: Herbalist? What does that entail?

He let out a little laugh.

Yoichiro: I mix plants, I heal people, stuff like that…

Airi: So if someone gets hurt, could you help them?

Yoichiro shrugged.

Yoichiro: Depends on the ailment.

Without warning, he began laughing again.

Masakage: What is this?

Yoichiro: My apologies, my apologies, Mister Ueno.

He reached into his yukata and pulled out a wooden bowl.

Yoichiro: The more I use my talent… the worse off I am!

Airi: Huh?

He coughed and dropped the bowl.

Yoichiro: I mix so many different spices…

Masakage: ….

Airi: ….

I can’t say I know what his problem is, but… He seems incredibly troubled.

Yoichiro sat back down onto the bench and cradled his head in his hand.

Yoichiro: Well, you best be off. It was nice meeting you, Miss Yamamoto and Mister Ueno.

Airi: Um, goodbye.

Masakage: ...Bye.

As we walked away, Masakage grew more and more antsy.

Masakage: He seems very… depressed. ….I feel bad for him.

Airi: Who? Yoichiro?

Masakage: ….Forget it.

I guess the King of Cool’s facade keeps cracking with every new student we meet. It’s kinda sweet though, seeing him, well, at least try to care for one of his classmates.

Airi: Anyway, Masakage, we only have two more introductions to get through!

Masakage: Mhm…

It didn’t take much more searching to find the final two students.

It was a short girl with a colorful outfit, and this rock n’ roll-looking girl.

Colorful girl: This is crazy, yo!

Rock girl: Haha, you said it. But it’s probably just a field trip! It’s cool, right?

Airi: Hello?

They both turned to us and gave us smiles - well, it was hard to tell with the shirt girl wearing a doctor’s mask.

The shorter girl needed to be arrested by the fashion police. Like… immediately. She was very pale and had cute blue eyes. Her hair was a pretty silver color, but was short and stuck out in all directions - it was as if she hadn’t brushed it in months. She wore bright yellow safety goggles, and a bright blue doctor’s mask that was covered in colorful polka dots. She had on a purple boys’ school uniform top with white buttons, but light pink pants that fell into black sneakers. On her arm was a bright red armband that cried out “WARNING.” She had hearing aids that were a dazzling pink (but a different shade than her pants), and had on yellow dish gloves. 

The taller girl had light pink eyes covered with pink-tinted sunglasses, and had her dark brown hair thrown into two short braids, with a pink cherry hair pin holding the loose pieces back. She wore a slim, old-fashioned tan dress with pink cherries on it that fell to her knees. On her shoulders was a cute denim jacket covered in patches of various music groups, movies, everything really. Finally, she wore white sandals to complete her look.

Rock girl: Oh my goodness it’s so nice to meet you all! How are you holding up?

Airi: Oh, I’m fine, um…

Rock girl: You sound sorta scared. Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be fine!

Masakage: Anyway, who are you two?

The incredibly short girl stepped forward before the other could say anything.

Tohru: Yooooooo!!!!! I’m Tohru Ono! And your girl is the Ultimate Virologist!

**= Tohru Ono - Ultimate Virologist =**

I’ve heard of the Ultimate Virologist - born near deaf and constantly in the hospital, she grew an affinity for all things virus-related and even tested out a cure for the common cold on mice - to varying success. Like most other academics, she’s published papers, but…

I still couldn’t imagine an academic power house from the girl standing in front of me.

Masakage: Hm… So as a virologist, would you have the ability to help someone if they got hurt?

Tohru: Ummmmm…. I know CPR, but my arms are too small to do it on anyone bigger than an infant, haha!

Masakage: So your talent is no help for us here?

Tohru: ….If you get the flu I can take your temperature!

I simply turned my attention away from Tohru and onto the other girl.

Airi: And who are you?

Rock girl: Oh, this is so embarrassing! Gosh! But my name is Mayu Kobayashi! I just… can’t seem to remember my talent.

**= Mayu Kobayashi - Ultimate ??? =**

...I can’t really make much of a comment on a girl with ??? as a talent. But she didn’t look very familiar, so I don’t think she’s the Ultimate Actress or anything.

Mayu: Maybe I’m the Ultimate Interpreter? I mean, I woke up next to Tohru here and we both know sign language! But that wouldn’t work… She can talk just fine!

Airi: You… seriously can’t remember?

Mayu: Nope!

Masakage: You should remember in due time. I wouldn’t doubt it if you were the Ultimate Reserve Course Student, knowing our classmates.

Mayu: Well, I hope it’s something more showy and interesting!

Airi: Anyway, I’m Airi Yamamoto, Ultimate Sculptor.

Masakage: ...Billiards Player.

Mayu: Oh! Now I really hope I remember my talent as something really cool! I already met my favorite guitarist AND a kid who's produced countless music scores! And now a talented sculptor and pool player?!

Masakage: It’s not _pool_ -

???: _Excuse me! Is this thing on?_

A sudden grating voice interrupted our conversation. Where was it even coming from? Were there speakers diapered about the park?

Masakage: What is-

???: _All students make their way to the hotel lobby! All preparations for this field trip were completed! I’ll be waiting there!_

Mayu: See, Tohru? I told you it was a field trip!

Mayu: But… It sounds like we should make our way there. 

Airi: Yea...

The four of us found our way to the hotel lobby where the rest of us eventually congregated. But… there was no one there.

Shinobu: So… What the hell are we doing here?

Haruo: S-Shinobu…! P-Please don’t s-s-swear!

Nyoko: Hell if I know, this whole thing is… super freaky.

Haruo: N-N-Nyoko!

Kaoru laughed obnoxiously at Haruo.

Kaoru: Oho! We’ve all been kidnapped and you’re worried about some teenagers swearing? Oh, do tell what goes through that head of yours!

Nakahara: Kaoru…

Haruo: H-H-Haruo t-thinks….!

Hansuke: C’mon now, y’all don’t wanna start problems. Let’s just see who wanted t’ get us all here, okay?

Karishma: I agree. We have no idea the gravity of our situation, but we can assume it can be nothing _good_.

She then smiled delightfully and jumped up and down.

Kaia: Yes, yes!! Karishma is suuuuuper right!!

Shinobu: Enough of that!

Karishma: Hm…

Riku: So… is something going to happen….?

Nyoko: He’s right… Is someone coming, or?

Ayaka: Y-You’re right.

Shuji: The fucker ain’t even here!

Masakage: I wouldn’t speak so soon, they’re probably running late.

Mayu: Doesn’t that seem… unlikely? I mean, they did ask us to meet them here.

Tohru: ...Mhm!

Airi: You’re right… Shouldn’t they be here?

Kaoru: Oh, silly girls!

Airi: Huh?

Kaoru: They’re clearly _messing with us!_

Mayu: How do you figure?

Kaoru: They _want_ us to wait - makes everything more _dramatic!_

Ayaka: N-No one in the right mind would d-do that, though…

Yoichiro: Hm… I agree.

Nakahara: Have faith in Kaoru, Ayaka!!! Yoichiro!!

Airi: Kaoru, so you’re saying… the kidnapper is making us wait to… stress us out?

Kaoru: _E-xact-ly!_ Look how smart you are!

Hisaya: What a terrible turn of events…

Mayu: So… how do we drag them out?

Karishma: I’m not even sure we can. Wouldn’t he show himself by now? I understand making us wait to be dramatic, but we’ve been here for like ten minutes.

Kaia: Ten minutes!!! Ten whole minutes!!!

Kaoru: Ohoho! But what if he doesn’t even want to show his face? Is he _that_ afraid of a bunch of teenagers? How pathetic!

Riku: ...You’re just… contradicting yourself….

Nakahara: I hope he shows his face, so I can kick his ass!!!!

Hisaya: How violent…

Shinobu: I dunno how to get him to show his face, but I _do_ know that when he does, I’ll just kick his ass then we can go home. Simple as that. 

Hansuke: I don’t think that’ll solve nothin’, but I wouldn’t mind helpin’ ya out there.

Shuji: Me too!

Shinobu let out a little laugh.

Shuji: Huh?! What the fuck was that about?!

Shinobu: _You_ want to fight the kidnapper? Can you even fight?

He broke out into uproarious laughter.

Shuji: I-I can fight, asshole!

Haruo: P-Please d-don’t fight!

Hansuke: I gotta agree with ‘im on that one-

Riku: ...This… can’t be good…

Hisaya: How violent…

Airi: Come on now, don’t fight-

Masakage: This is what happens when you put two incompetent idiots into a room.

Completely ignoring all our pleas, Shinobu took a big step back and kicked the wall right next to Shuji, and… Was that a hole in the wall?!

Shuji: _Once bitten twice shy!_

Nakahara blew her whistle.

Nakahara: Stop that now!!!

Yoichiro: This can’t be good… Hm…

???: Destruction of school property is strictly forbidden! 

Shinobu: Huh?!

Masakage: Hm-

Nakahara: Show yourself!!

???: Over here!

All heads went spinning towards the front desk, which sat in the middle of the lobby.

A… cat? jumped out from behind the desk. 

Mayu: What the-?!

Karishma: Now this is odd…

Kaia: Weird, weird!!

Airi: W-What’s going on…?

???: _My name is MonoNeko! The owner of this here establishment!_

Surviving students: 16

Airi Yamamoto - Ultimate Sculptor

Ayaka Honda - Ultimate Sword Swallower

Hisaya Yokoyama - Ultimate Geisha

Kaoru Nakahara - Ultimate Lifeguard

Karishma Yoshida - Ultimate Zoologist

Mayu Kobayashi - Ultimate ???

Nyoko Takahashi - Ultimate Physicist

Tohru Ono - Ultimate Virologist

Hansuke Ikeda - Ultimate Storyteller

Haruo Usui - Ultimate Missionary

Kaoru Oshiro - Ultimate Lawyer

Masakage Ueno - Ultimate Billiards Player

Riku Morishita - Ultimate Composer

Shinobu Anzai - Ultimate Karate Master

Shuji Yukimura - Ultimate Guitarist

Yoichiro Fukui - Ultimate Herbalist


	2. Prologue 2: Welcome to the Theme Park of Despair

Seiko, Karishma’s pet snake, began to hiss wildly at the mechanical cat… Thing… All I can really say about him is that his name is MonoNeko…

He was half black, half white. His white side looked completely innocent, but the black had a streak of devilish red. It was all… A little too unnerving for me.

MonoNeko: Get that thing away from me!

Karishma calmed down Seiko, but the two just watched MonoNeko as he pranced around, intertwining between all sixteen of us students.

He marched over towards Shinobu and Shuji, who were still standing by the new hole in the wall.

MonoNeko: Tsk, tsk! Destruction of school property is  _ strictly  _ forbidden!

Shinobu: Who the hell are you, huh?!

MonoNeko: A cat! Duh!

Karishma: You’re no  _ cat _ !

Kaia: Freaky!!!!!

Shinobu: I mean, what’s your name?!

MonoNeko: I already said that, geez! I’m  _ MonoNeko _ ! How dumb  _ are _ you?

Shinobu: Huh?!

Shuji: The fuck do ya want with us?!

MonoNeko laughed at the two and jumped up onto the lobby desk again.

MonoNeko: Well, a change of scenery was very nice, wasn’t it? A theme park?  _ And _ a new mascot? A cat!

Mayu: Wait… If this is a theme park, why did you say “school property”?

MonoNeko: Hm?

Riku: I… Caught… That too…

Yoichiro: Hm, yes… You called this lobby “school property”, Mister MonoNeko.

MonoNeko: “Mister”! Why, I’m flattered!

Nyoko: Just answer the damn question, cat.

MonoNeko: It’s  _ MonoNeko _ to you, and the _ Mister  _ is highly appreciated!

MonoNeko: Well, this is a field trip! A Hope’s Peak field trip! So for the time being, this is all considered “school property”.

Shuji:  _ We don’t need no education! _

MonoNeko: That’s what the  _ field trip _ is for, moron!

Shuji: Ya got some more explainin’ t’ do! Where the fuck is my phone ‘n’ why am I here?!

Hansuke: He’s right… I don’t remember ever signin’ up for some field trip.

Ayaka: M-Me neither…!

Haruo: H-H-Haruo n-never signed u-up e-e-either!

Kaoru: Ohoho, none of you did, did you?

Masakage: So, did  _ you _ ? Hm?

Kaoru: Ahaha! Of course not!

MonoNeko: Quiet!

Airi: ….

Tohru: ….

Ayaka: ….

MonoNeko: That’s better!

Masakage: So why are we here?

MonoNeko: Well, like I said! New mascot, new location, and, of course, new  _ killing game! _

Did he… Just say what I think he said?

Shuji: W-What the  _ fuck?! _

Haruo: W-W-What?!

Tohru: Huh?!

Nyoko: Bullshit!

Hisaya: Such violence… This is so sad.

Airi: W-What…?

Nakahara: Explain yourself!! Now!!

Ayaka: Y-Yea!

Yoichiro: Mister MonoNeko, please explain yourself…

MonoNeko: Why, it’s simple! You’re all stuck here-

Haruo: S-S-Stuck?!

Ayaka: H-Huh?!

MonoNeko: Ahem! And the only way to escape is to murder one of your classmates!

Masakage: No… Way….!

Riku: ……

Nyoko: Bull! This is all bull!

Mayu: M-Murder?! You can’t be serious!

Shuji: I think of all the education that I’ve missed, but then my homework was never quite like this!

Hansuke: I don’t think we got time for wishful thinkin’...

Kaoru: Ohoho! This is so  _ interesting!! _

Nakahara: This is… Ridiculous…

Karishma: This…

Kaia: BAD BAD BAD!!

I… Was completely speechless. The only way to leave is to…  _ Murder _ one of my classmates?!

I… Couldn't even believe it…

Airi: H-Huh…?

Hisaya: What…?

Ayaka: N-No one would e-ever do that, you filthy cat!

Haruo: Y-Yes!

Nakahara: Yea… They’re right!! No one is killing anybody!

Riku: …..Yes….

MonoNeko: You’re all so  _ dramatic!  _ But you don’t just get to kill someone and leave! No, that would be too easy!

Masakage: E-Easy…?

MonoNeko: You have to survive the  _ Class Trial!  _ But I’ll explain all those rules later!

Kaoru: I predicted that there would be a trial!

Nyoko: Rules…?

Nakahara: We won’t even need those rules, MonoNeko!! No one is killing anybody!! Yea!!

MonoNeko: Are you  _ so sure about that? _

Nakahara: H-Huh?!

MonoNeko: I know everything about  _ all of you!  _ I know how to get you all to snap!

Riku: ….

Yoichiro: Hm…

Shuji: Like what the fuck do ya mean-?!

MonoNeko: Hm, Shuji… How’s your girlfriend?

Shuji: H-Huh?! How the fuck did you-

MonoNeko: Where is she? I mean, you’re trapped here so you’ll never see her again.

Tears began to show as Shuji clenched his fist and began to mutter through gritted teeth.

Shuji: S-S-Stop this…! She’s fuckin’ fine….!

Hisaya began to weep silently.

Hisaya: So cruel… Please stop this…

MonoNeko: Then kill someone, princess! It’s as easy as that!

Hisaya: N-No…

MonoNeko seemed angry, but he just shook his head.

MonoNeko: In the  _ meantime,  _ there’s other rules I should tell you all so your time here can go smoothly!

Nyoko: Smoothly…?

Before anybody could say anything else, MonoNeko began his long list of rules.

MonoNeko: Rule one! Students may only reside in the theme park! Leaving is strictly prohibited!

Hansuke: How would we leave anyway-?

MonoNeko: Rule number two! “Nighttime” is from 10 PM to 7 AM. Some areas will be off-limits at night, so please exercise caution!

Ayaka: N-Nighttime…?

MonoNeko: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping during the field trip and shall be punished accordingly!

Mayu: Dorms?

Yoichiro: Explain this, please, Mister MonoNeko…

Airi: Yea… That doesn’t make any sense...

MonoNeko: Well, the floor above here in this hotel has  _ dorms.  _ Each door has a picture on it, so you’ll have to look for yours!

Airi: I… Guess that makes some sense...

MonoNeko: Anyway! Rule numero four! With minimal restrictions, you are all free to explore this theme park!  _ MonoNeko’s Park Of Despair! _

Riku: ...What an… Odd name…

Karishma: Well, at least we have  _ some  _ freedom.

Shuji: I’d say killin’ eachother ain’t fuckin’ freedom!

Masakage: Oh, and what are  _ you _ going to do about it?

Shuji: Shut the fuck up!

Shinobu walked in between the two and pushed Shuji away. MonoNeko took this as a signal to continue.

MonoNeko: Rule number five! Violence against  _ me, MonoNeko  _ is strictly forbidden!

MonoNeko wrapped his tail around Tohru, who began to immediately panic.

Tohru: P-Please… Leave me alone you filthy piece of shit!

Mayu picked up MonoNeko as carefully as she could to get him away from Tohru.

Mayu: O-Okay… Here we go…

She gently placed him back on the lobby desk. But, he immediately threw a fit.

MonoNeko: That was a  _ horrible  _ example! You were supposed to kick me and I was supposed to teach you a lesson, scaring all these other idiots!

Mayu: Huh?!

Tohru: Ngh...

MonoNeko: Fine, whatever! Destruction of school property is also forbidden! This includes breaking down locked doors! That’s rule number six!

Shinobu: You already yelled at us for that earlier.

Shuji grabbed the vase off of the desk after pushing MonoNeko out of the way.

Shuji:  _ I wanna be anarchy! _

Shuji: I’m going to break your rules!

Masakage: You hopeless idiot…

Nakahara: Shuji no!!

Yoichiro: Mister Yukimura, you’re going to hurt yourself…

Before he could do any damage, and, probably, severely hurt himself, Karishma had grabbed the vase from his hands and put it down. Shinobu intervened and picked him up, leaving him to hang on his shoulder.

Shuji: HEY!

Shinobu: …..

MonoNeko: Upupu, thank you, Shinobu-

Shinobu: I’ll break every bone in your body-

MonoNeko: But that’s against the rules!

Karishma: Just stop, both of you.

Shinobu just put the Ultimate Guitarist down and glared at MonoNeko, who simply shook his head and continued reading off his rules.

MonoNeko: R-U-L-E number seven! Anyone who kills someone and becomes “blackened” will graduate, unless they are discovered!

Hansuke: So we’re back at this again, aren’t we?

Nyoko: Yea…

Masakage: ”Blackened”?

MonoNeko: That’s the term for it, moron!

Nakahara: Still!! No one is killing anyone!! Yea!!

MonoNeko: Need I repeat myself?

Shuji: N-No…

Nakahara: …..

MonoNeko: And finally, for now! Rule NUMBER EIGHT! Once a murder takes place, a class trial will take place shortly after!

Hisaya: Class trial….?

Ayaka: W-What is that…?

MonoNeko: I’ll explain that all when the first murder happens!

Haruo: F-F-First?!

MonoNeko: Yep, yep, yep!

Masakage: ….

Riku: ….

Ayaka: ….

Nyoko: ….

Hansuke: ….

MonoNeko: But I have one more thing for all of you - a little present!

Airi: P-Present…?

Hansuke: I don’t trust ya…

Shinobu: Me neither…

MonoNeko: It’s your ELECTRO ID!

We all just stood there, as MonoNeko pulled out a box of tablets.

Riku: So… What do… We do… With these…?

MonoNeko: Oh, they’re very, very important!

Kaoru: Ohohoho!! How interesting!! Are these for the murder cases, kitty? Oh, do tell, do tell!!

MonoNeko: Aren’t I kind? They have all the rules written there, and all the basic information you need to get you through the killing game!

Riku: ….How… Kind…

Nyoko: I don’t like this whole damn thing…

Hansuke: I don’t think any o’ us like it.

MonoNeko put the box of Electro IDs down.

MonoNeko: Take the one with your name on it!

MonoNeko: I’ll be going now - my job here is done!

Nakahara: WAIT!

MonoNeko stopped in his tracks.

MonoNeko: Uuuuh? What’s that? A mosquito?

Nakahara: I made a promise to my classmates that I would kick the ass of our kidnapper - and damn it I will! Rules or not!!

MonoNeko: How rude, don’t you have any respect for authority?

Nakahara: Usually, yes - but now - HELL NO!!!!

Kaoru: Oh, are you gonna quit yapping and kick his fuzzy ass?

Nakahara: HIYAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Tohru: FUCK YEA!!!!!!!

Shinobu: Okay I’ll help you guys-

Hansuke: Can’t y’all stop screamin’ for five minutes?!

Everyone froze and looked at the Ultimate Storyteller.

Hansuke: I want to kick his ass as much as you do, but this ain’t helpin’!

Masakage: If you idiots could be quiet for five minutes and think  _ rationally _ , we could get out of this without fighting.

MonoNeko: Thank you, Mister Fancypants!

Nyoko: Hmph… That was my line.

MonoNeko: I mean, I could easily fight off all sixteen of you if I tried! But thanks for saving me from the fight! It’s so  _ exhausting _ . Anyway, if you’re done with that charade, I’ll be going. Grab your Electro IDs. Bye-bye!

Before any of us could even react, MonoNeko had disappeared under the desk.

Shinobu walked over to the desk and leaned over.

Shinobu: He’s completely gone! How’s that even possible?!

Hisaya: I don’t think that’s our main concern, Shinobu…

Ayaka: W-What was that?

Haruo: H-H-Haruo is g-going to p-pray to Su-Yo!

Haruo slid down onto his knees and began to whisper under his breath. 

Riku: ….Haruo…

Haruo: Hm?

Riku: ….Get up…

Haruo: Y-Yes… G-Goddess...

Riku grabbed Haruo’s arm and dragged him up to stand.

Masakage: Whatever the hell that was… It was real, and praying to your goddess won’t stop him.

Airi: I hate to agree, but… We need to think rationally. It’s great to have faith but-

Haruo: H-Haruo u-understands…

Nyoko: So what the hell do we do now?

Masakage: I think we should see what he gave us.

Riku: The…. “Electro IDs”....?

Masakage: Precisely.

Despite just wanting to be frozen in time, I reluctantly walked over and picked up the Electro ID that had my name on it. I immediately turned it on and was greeted with a bright screen that read “Airi Yamamoto.”

Soon after, everyone else got theirs.

The ID was separated into three separate parts - the first had a map of the general theme park - the hotel, the roller coasters, food venues, everything. The second included basic information on me and my classmates - name, talent, height, weight - stuff like that. Then the third was the rules MonoNeko had just told us.

We all separated into groups as we looked over our Electro IDs. So… we really were trapped at this duranged theme park, huh? And the only way to escape… is to  _ kill  _ someone?

….I’d rather not think about it too much right now. I just decided to talk to the others. 

I first approached Masakage. He was fiddling with his watch anxiously.

Masakage: ….

Airi: You… alright?

Masakage: ...Killing someone… I pray it doesn’t come to that.

Airi: ….

Next I checked in with Nyoko and Hansuke, who were trying to decipher the Electro IDs.

Hansuke: So how’s this thing work?

Nyoko: Lemme show you Hansu... Oh, Airi!

Airi: Find anything?

Hansuke: Nuthin’, can’t even figure out this damn tablet.

Nyoko: We’ll be okay, Ai Ai, don’t worry about us.

Nyoko: You should only worry about when my next prank’s coming!

I just stepped away from them and approached a group of four - Hisaya, Yoichiro, Haruo, and Riku.

Yoichiro: If it comes to it… I wouldn’t mind losing my life.

Riku: ...Thanks…?

Haruo: H-H-Haruo s-shall p-pray for y-you!

Hisaya: What a horrid thing to say! Your life is important too, Yoichiro!

Yoichiro: ….

Airi: Are you guys okay?

Hisaya: We’re fine, thank you, Airi.

Riku: ….

Yoichiro: …

Haruo: ….

I just moved on to the next two - Mayu and Tohru.

Tohru: Hmmmmmm….

Mayu: What’s up?

Tohru: This place is… weird! I don’t like it… And that cat is…

Tears began to well in her eyes.

Tohru: S-Scary!! Are w-we gonna kill each other…?

Mayu: Oh, it’ll be okay! Do you really believe one of us would  _ kill  _ someone?

Airi: I see you’re more chipper than expected.

Mayu: It’s cause if you think about it, really… it’s all implausible!

Airi: MonoNeko seemed pretty serious…

Mayu: Heh… I guess you’re right…

I then moved on to another group of four.

Kaoru: Ahaha! This whole charade is utterly depressing, isn’t it? What’s the poor kitty gonna do to any of us break the rules? Oh, will he turn that beautiful head of yours into a dart board?

Nakahara: He better not!!!

Karishma: That’s just preposterous. I mean… this whole thing is… um…. scary, but he wouldn’t do  _ that _ .

Kaoru: So sure?

Ayaka: H-He wouldn’t dare…!

Airi: Did you guys find anything?

Karishma: Afraid not. This seems to be an ordinary hotel lobby. I guess we should head upstairs and investigate the “dorms”...

Kaia: Good, very good idea!!

Karishma: ….

Finally, I looked behind the desk at Shuji and Shinobu who were trying to find where MonoNeko had disappeared to.

Shuji: Find anything?!

Shinobu: Shut up! Let me look!

Shuji: Move it! Ya clearly can’t search!

Shuji knelt down and began fiddling through whatever was behind the desk. Then, he pulled out a box of… something.

The box jingled when he lifted it up and he proudly announced:

Shuji: FOUND SOMETHING!

Everyone gathered around the Guitarist as he emptied the contents onto the ground. And it was… a bunch of keys?

Yoichiro first reached down and grabbed one.

Yoichiro: Says my name… Must be my dorm key.

Everyone began fighting for their keys on the ground.

I finally found mine - a tiny golden key with a red tag that read “Yamamoto.”

Mayu: Should we… check out our rooms?

Masakage: ….I guess it’s all we can do right now.

Airi: You’re right…

We all dispersed and made our way upstairs. Some stayed in the lobby, others immediately went to their rooms.

I found one with a picture of a redhead with paint on her face. I’m guessing that one’s mine.

I turned the key and the door squeaked open, revealing a basic red bedroom. The room looks overall… pretty cozy. I guess if I’m going to be kidnapped at an amusement park, at least I’ll be sleeping in a nice hotel room. It was also nice to see some of my sculpting material in my room.

After a quick look-around, I left again, to see if anyone was still loitering in the lobby. Only Nakahara was there.

Nakahara: Airi!!! I’m so glad to see you!! I’m here to be a night-watch to make sure everything goes according to plan!

Airi: Huh?

Nakahara: Well, it  _ is  _ getting late. And it’s been a stressful day, right? Better get sleep. I’m just going to stay down here to make sure no one leaves or MonoNeko doesn’t try anything!

Airi: But… isn’t that against the rules?

Nakahara: Nope! It’s only against the rules if I  _ sleep  _ in another area that isn’t my dorm. Nothing against just standing in a hotel lobby!

Airi: Okay…

I just decided to go back to my room for the night, and as I saw no one else in the hallway, I assumed most did the same. 

I repeated the rules in my head one more time before I drifted off to sleep.

The only escape it to… kill someone?

I mean… sure, some of my classmates seem  _ intimidating _ , but I can’t imagine any of us  _ killing  _ someone.

...Maybe this is all just a nightmare.

Surviving students: 16

Airi Yamamoto - Ultimate Sculptor

Ayaka Honda - Ultimate Sword Swallower

Hisaya Yokoyama - Ultimate Geisha

Kaoru Nakahara - Ultimate Lifeguard

Karishma Yoshida - Ultimate Zoologist

Mayu Kobayashi - Ultimate ???

Nyoko Takahashi - Ultimate Physicist

Tohru Ono - Ultimate Virologist

Hansuke Ikeda - Ultimate Storyteller

Haruo Usui - Ultimate Missionary

Kaoru Oshiro - Ultimate Lawyer

Masakage Ueno - Ultimate Billiards Player

Riku Morishita - Ultimate Composer

Shinobu Anzai - Ultimate Karate Master

Shuji Yukimura - Ultimate Guitarist

Yoichiro Fukui - Ultimate Herbalist

**Prologue: End**


	3. Electro IDs

Name: Airi Yamamoto

Talent: SHSL Sculptor

Height: 5’5

Weight: 110 lbs

Birthday: October 25th

Likes: Pottery, jazz, meeting new people

Dislikes: Watercolor, watching TV

Name: Ayaka Honda

Talent: SHSL Sword Swallower

Height: 5’9

Weight: 125 lbs

Birthday: May 29th

Likes: Historical novels, colorful sheaths, vaudeville

Dislikes: Monkeys, sour foods

Name: Hansuke Ikeda

Talent: SHSL Storyteller

Height: 4’11

Weight: 130 lbs

Birthday: March 2nd

Likes: Foreign folklore, ink pens, country music

Dislikes: Urban life, loud noises

Name: Haruo Usui

Talent: SHSL Missionary

Height: 5’10

Weight: 115 lbs

Birthday: January 6th

Likes: Camping, fun scarves, introducing people to his religion

Dislikes: Rude people, air conditioning

Name: Hisaya Yokoyama

Talent: SHSL Geisha

Height: 6’1

Weight: 125 lbs

Birthday: April 23rd

Likes: Attention, beautiful flowers, citrus fruits

Dislikes: Mosquitoes, anything considered “scary”

Name: Kaoru Nakahara

Talent: SHSL Lifeguard

Height: 5’9

Weight: 120 lbs

Birthday: July 15th

Likes: Swimming, potato chips, loud music

Dislikes: Thunderstorms, contact lenses

Name: Kaoru Oshiro

Talent: SHSL Lawyer

Height: 5’5

Weight: 115 lbs

Birthday: February 17th

Likes: Cats, interesting people, puzzles

Dislikes: Liars, boring people

Name: Karishma Yoshida

Talent: SHSL Zoologist

Height: 5’3

Weight: 110 lbs

Birthday: April 3rd

Likes: Reptiles, caramel, cold weather

Dislikes: The dark, people who are mean to animals

Name: Masakage Ueno

Talent: SHSL Billiards Player

Height: 5’6

Weight: 120 lbs

Birthday: December 8th

Likes: Blues music, hard candy, his precious pocket watch

Dislikes: Snakes, ignorance

Name: Mayu Kobayashi

Talent: SHSL ???

Height: 5’6

Weight: 100 lbs

Birthday: January 1st

Likes: Cherries, flowy dresses, rock music

Dislikes: Rainy days, negative people

Name: Nyoko Takahashi

Talent: SHSL Physicist

Height: 5’7

Weight: 125 lbs

Birthday: April 18th

Likes: Lolita fashion, lychees, pranks

Dislikes: Running, apple juice

Name: Riku Morishita

Talent: SHSL Composer

Height: 5’4

Weight: 95 lbs

Birthday: October 31st

Likes: Campy horror films, dogs, violin solos

Dislikes: Piano music, watching plays

Name: Shinobu Anzai

Talent: SHSL Karate Master

Height: 6’0

Weight: 150 lbs

Birthday: June 22nd

Likes: Heavy metal, yelling, pickles

Dislikes: Internet censorship, pop music

Name: Shuji Yukimura

Talent: SHSL Guitarist

Height: 5’6

Weight: 110 lbs

Birthday: October 8th

Likes: Punk rock, brownies, his girlfriend

Dislikes: Bass, alcohol

Name: Tohru Ono

Talent: SHSL Virologist

Height: 4’9

Weight: 80 lbs

Birthday: November 7th

Likes: Rap music, “kick-ass” action movies, birdwatching

Dislikes: Hospitals, weird dreams

Name: Yoichiro Fukui

Talent: SHSL Herbalist

Height: 6’5

Weight: 140 lbs

Birthday: September 30th

Likes: Photography, chemistry, cute girls

Dislikes: Reading, seafood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the character profiles, you can come back to these anytime - they never change.


	4. Prologue Playlist

**Airi Yamamoto -** _Shabby Doll_ \- Elvis Costello & The Attractions

 **Masakage Ueno -** _Leader of the Pack_ \- The Shangri-Las

 **Shinobu Anzai -** _You’ve Got Another Thing Coming_ \- Judas Priest

 **Hisaya Yokoyama -** _Heart of Gold_ \- Neil Young

 **Ayaka Honda -** _Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves_ \- Cher

 **Kaoru Nakahara -** _Soldier of Love_ \- Pearl Jam

 **Kaoru Oshiro -** _Lawyers_ _, Guns, and Money_ \- Warren Zevon

 **Shuji Yukimura -** _Jet Boy_ \- New York Dolls

 **Haruo Usui -** _(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher_ \- Jackie Wilson

 **Nyoko Takahashi -** _E=MC2_ \- Big Audio Dynamite

 **Hansuke Ikeda -** _Sultans of Swing_ \- Dire Straits

 **Karishma Yoshida -** _Welcome to the Jungle_ \- Guns N’ Roses

 **Riku Morishita -** _My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark_ \- Fall Out Boy

 **Yoichiro Fukui -** _How Do You Feel_ \- Jefferson Airplane

 **Tohru Ono -** _Fight For Your Right_ \- Beastie Boys

 **Mayu Kobayashi -** _Girls Talk_ \- Dave Edmunds

**Listen on Spotify:** https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Sz6Y7V7rNzw4gB6Np4wwt?si=xDDe7mZdQb6Nq4urySYNHg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw other fan works do it, and I think it's a cute idea - so here's a fun little playlist, one song per character. At the end of each chapter, the deceased characters will have a full playlist dedicated to them!
> 
> ...Also my apologies that this playlist is basically genre whiplash.


	5. Chapter 1: Don’t Back Down, Daily Life - Part 1

I awoke the next morning fairly comfortable… until I remembered that I wasn’t in my own bed. But then the terrifying realization that this whole thing wasn’t a dream had hit.

MonoNeko: Attention students! It’s officially 7AM! Meaning it’s daytime! The kitchen and all attractions are open for the day! Have fun!

I pulled myself out of bed and just put on my apron again… who cares.

I made my way to the lobby again, where a few of my classmates were congregating. 

I first noticed Mayu and Tohru lounging on some of the nice lobby couches.

Mayu: Good morning, Airi! How’d you sleep?

Airi: Morning. Um… not well, heh. What about you?

Mayu: Just fine, thanks!

Tohru: Me too!

Mayu: But do you  _ smell  _ that, Airi? Looks like we’ve got the Ultimate Chef here!

I paused for a moment and sniffed the air. She was right… whatever was cooking smelled  _ amazing. _

Airi: Who’s making breakfast?

Mayu: I’m not sure, but Nakahara said she’ll bring the food out to the lobby so we can all eat together!

Airi: Hm…

Next I approached Shuji and Riku, the former barating the latter.

Shuji: Aw c’mooooon! Can’t ya write a badass song for me? I usually write m’ own shit but you’re a  _ composer!  _ Write me something cool!

Riku: ...Again, no….

Shuji: You suck!

Airi: What’s going on here?

Shuji: Oh, Airi! Can ya settle this for me?!

Airi: What’s the matter?

Shuji: Can ya believe it?! Riku’s a world famous composer and he won’t even write me a damn song!

Riku: …

He just looked at me and slumped into his seat, trying to ignore the obnoxious Guitarist.

Shuji: Come on, Riku! We can write the next big thing! It’ll top the charts!

Riku: ...I don’t like… shit music… like you…

Shuji: What-?!

Airi: Alright you two-

Shuji: What the fuck did ya say t’ me?!

Airi: Oh no…

Riku: ...All I’m saying…. is that I... can play more than three chords….

Shuji: WHAT?! H-How  _ dare _ you-! I’ll send ya straight to Hell, boy-!

Airi: C-Can you two stop fighting already?! We don’t need this right now, please…

Shuji: ….

Riku: ….

I just left the two alone after that. Did these guys always have to start fights? In a killing game situation, I’d hope we wouldn’t fight over such frivolous things.

After that I checked on Nyoko and Hansuke.

Nyoko: Hansu, I want you to pick someone’s name out of your hat - that’s whose bowl I’ll put cayenne in!

Hansuke: I don’t care if ya prank someone, just leave m’ hat outta it.

Nyoko was the first to notice me.

Nyoko: Oh, hey Ai Ai! How’d you sleep last night?

Hansuke: You didn’t glue her hair to her pillow, did you?

Nyoko: Sadly, no. I wouldn’t do that to Airi. I tried to do it to Shinobu but he wasn’t in his room last night!

Airi: He wasn’t? Where was he?

Nyoko: Not sure, but now he’s making breakfast.

So that delicious smell wasn’t the Ultimate Chef, but the… Karate Master? I guess everyone has their hobbies.

I then walked over to Yoichiro and Ayaka sitting peacefully on one of the couches.

Ayaka: Ack, it’s  _ her _ !

Airi: I heard that…

Ayaka: ….S-Sorry…

Yoichiro: She just wishes to be alone, Miss Yamamoto. Don’t mind her.

Ayaka: ….

Airi: I guess you’re not much of a bother?

Ayaka: I-I just didn’t like being dragged out of this morning by N-Nakahara… I just… wanna be left alone.

Airi: Are you alright?

Ayaka: Y-Yes… Just go, please. Yoichiro can stay… he doesn’t b-bother me as much…

Yoichiro gave me a sympathetic look and excused her once again; I just took that as a signal to leave.

Next I approached Hisaya, Kaoru, and Haruo.

Haruo: H-Haruo t-thinks… u-um...

Hisaya: Haruo, sweetie, you don’t need to worry so much. Take your time.

Haruo smiled joyfully.

Haruo: B-But um… H-H-Haruo is e-excited for b-breakfast! S-Shinobu c-can really c-c-cook…!

Kaoru: Oho! This is  _ too _ fun to watch!

Hisaya: ….

Airi: So, how are you guys holding up? With everything that happened yesterday?

Hisaya: I’ll admit, I haven’t been taking it too well. I wasn’t able to sleep last night, so I just wandered the halls for a bit.

Airi: Did you find something in the hotel?

Hisaya: It just looks like a normal hotel… Everyone has a room on the second floor. I haven’t tried the third floor, though. I’d assume it’s just extra, unused rooms and maybe an ice machine.

Kaoru: Ahaha! So no one’s even  _ tried  _ the third floor? No one searched for clues?

Airi: Did you?

Kaoru: Of course not!

Haruo: H-Haruo w-w-went to s-sleep l-last night… S-Sorry…

Airi: No, it’s okay. I’m at least glad you got some rest.

Haruo: Y-Yes…. s-s-some…

After I spoke with them, I walked into the adjacent kitchen for the first time.

It was a decently nice kitchen - had a stove and oven, microwave, a pantry stuffed to the brim with food - anything you could use to cook, well, anything. I guess our kidnapper didn’t want us starving to death, at least. I’d later find out from Shinobu that the kitchen magically restocked itself every night. There was also a single table with four chairs as well, but it didn’t look very comfortable.

There were four others in there - Shinobu was towering over the stove, with Karishma peering around him. Masakage and Nakahara were sitting at the table, Masakage looking utterly bored and annoyed, while Nakahara looked extremely tired.

I walked over to Masakage and Nakahara first.

Nakahara yawned then smiled.

Nakahara: Airi!! Good… good morning!

Airi: Did you even sleep last night?

Nakahara: Nope! Was up till seven, then came when the kitchen opened! Shinobu and I were hanging out so at least the night wasn’t boring. 

Airi: What did you guys talk about?

Nakahara: Oh, normal stuff, normal stuff! About the killing game… and stuff!

Airi: Well, make sure you get some rest tonight. 

Nakahara: Some, some!! Shinobu and I are switching on night duty every other night! Makes things easier, y’know?

Airi: Yea. Did you two find anything while you were up last night?

She just shook her head.

Nakahara: Nah, we just talked! That Shinobu is great!! We were just guarding the lobby and having fun.

Airi: Hm…

Next I checked on Masakage.

Airi: Hey-

Masakage: Thank  _ God  _ you’re here, Airi.

Airi: Huh? Why?

Masakage: Have you  _ seen  _ these idiots? 

Airi: Huh? Everyone seems nice…

Masakage: “Nice”? That’s B.S., Airi. All incompetent idiots… and we’re  _ trapped  _ with them. One night has me wanting to kill myself…

Nakahara: I heard that!!! There will be no one dead on my watch!!

Masakage: Ngh… Anyway… I want to talk with you later. About… all this. Come by my room tonight at six.

Airi: ...Will do, Masakage.

Masakage: ….Thanks….

Airi: Hm?

Masakage: Nothing! Meet at six.

I chuckled at him and checked on our Ultimate Chef, Shinobu, and Karishma who was assisting him…. Well, trying to assist him.

Karishma: You must let me see what you’re doing - don’t burn the eggs!

Shinobu: I know what I’m doing!!!

Kaia: Let me help!!! Let me help!!!

Shinobu: Stop that!

As Shinobu juggled cooking what looked like a mountain of scrambled eggs and rice, he put his foot out to try and shoo Karishma away.

Shinobu: I can cook by myself!

Karishma: ….

Airi: Um, what’s going on here?

Shinobu: Thank god you’re here, Airi. I’m trying to cook but this weirdo keeps messing with my focus!

Karishma: I’m not messing with your focus, I’m simply trying to fix your dish.

Kaia: W-Weirdo?!

Shinobu: I can cook eggs just fine, dammit!

Airi: Oh goodness...

I just walked away from the bickering cooks and sat with Masakage until they finished. About twenty minutes later, Nakahara helped Shinobu and Karishma gather breakfast and they made a little buffet in the lobby.

Mayu: Omigosh!! It smells  _ amazing!  _ What is it?

Shinobu: Eggs…

Mayu: Well, I’m still excited to eat it! Even if we’re trapped here, at least we get to eat  _ good  _ food!

Tohru: HELL YEA! Lemme take a huge plate-

Nakahara: Wait, everyone!!!

Shuji: Huh?

Ayaka: W-What’s the problem? I’m hungry.

Nakahara: Before we eat!! I wanted to make an announcement while you’re all gathered here!

Masakage: Now the bitch has something to say…

Nakahara: What was that?!

Hisaya: Oh, be nice, Masakage. What’s the matter, Nakahara?

Kaoru: What could you possibly say? Has she found a way out? Oho, the possibilities!

Nakahara: No, but!! I’ve noticed you all having trouble getting along!!

Nyoko: Not me and Hansuke! Right, Hansu?

Hansuke: ….Please finish, Nakahara.

Nyoko: Oh, you’re no fun!

Nakahara: I thought it would be best to declare myself leader of you guys!! Like a class president!! I can organize fun events to get everyone PUMPED!! I vow to protect you all from anything MonoNeko throws at us!!

Masakage: Of course…

Shuji: Hey, I don’t want anyone in  _ charge!  _

Haruo: B-But… H-H-Haruo t-thinks h-having a l-leader is a g-g-good idea… And N-N-Nakahara seems v-very capable!

Riku: ...I suppose if… it helps us…

Yoichiro: If you insist, Miss Nakahara. I think you’ll prove an excellent leader. It gives the group some stability, anyway.

Mayu: It’s  _ Nakahara!  _ She’ll make a  _ fantastic  _ leader! She even stayed up all night to protect us!

Nakahara: I’m glad you all agree with my decision!! 

Karishma shifted uncomfortably in her seat, deep in thought. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t get herself to. In the end, she sighed and spoke up. 

Karishma: Well, I think with your rebellious streak, Nakahara, you’ll get yourself killed before you could protect any of us. I know it’s not ideal, but we  _ should  _ follow MonoNeko’s rules to not get ourselves killed.

Nakahara: Well, that’s no fun! But…

Nakahara paused for a moment, then gave a gleaming smile.

Nakahara: Alright, Karishma! Since you’re so calm and collected-

Shinobu: Most of the time….

Nakahara: You’ll be my co-leader!! You can keep me in check! Sound good?

Karishma: Um….. Okay?

Nakahara: Wonderful!!

Masakage: Not another one…

Shuji:  _ Two _ leaders?! But that’s not anarchy! MonoNeko already declared himself a leader, and I’m against him! Why should I be  _ for  _ you two?!

Ayaka: Oh, j-just shut up…

Mayu: And what are your ideas for events? I, for one, am excited to ride all the rides here! Oh, I wonder if there’s some games too!

Nakahara: No, not yet!! I’ll have a plan after breakfast… hopefully!!

Kaoru: Oh, she tried!

Looks like our new leader didn’t think that far ahead last night. Oh well, it’s still a nice sentiment.

Nakahara: One more thing!! So… Can anybody else cook?

Nakahara looked a bit embarrassed as she asked, but she quickly perked up again.

Nakahara: Shinobu shouldn’t be cooking every day!!

She looked about the room as a few raised their hands - Karishma, Hisaya, Hansuke, and, surprisingly, Masakage after a bit of hesitation.

Nakahara: Good!! You all can take turns cooking!! I, uh… can’t cook myself but if you need help, please ask!!

Hisaya: I may have to take you up on that… You can help me carry heavy ingredients. Oh, and I can’t reach into the oven… I always burn myself.

Hansuke: Sorry t’ disappoint, but I can only cook a few things.

Nyoko: Don’t downplay your cooking! Hansu once made me a really cool birthday cake!

Hansuke: But that’s  _ baking… _

Nyoko: Anyway, I can help you, Hansu!

Karishma: Can I make dinner tonight?

Kaia: It’ll be SUPER spicy!!!

Karishma: Haha… yea.

Airi: Masakage, you can cook?

Masakage: ….Yes. Some intricate stuff, too. I… cook for my family a lot.

Airi: That’s super swe-

Masakage: But for you lot, you’ll get rice and nothing more.

Nakahara: Anyway!! You’re all free to eat the breakfast Shinobu was nice enough to prepare!! Afterwards we should get into groups and investigate the park!! See if we find anything!

When she concluded, everyone - well, mainly Tohru and Shuji - sprinted towards the buffet.

I approached Masakage as he shook his head at our classmates.

Masakage: Such useless people… at least the athletic one can cook.

Airi: He has a name, you know.

Masakage: At least the Karate Kid can cook. 

Airi: ….

I decided to grab a small plate and brought it back to my room. At least we’ve got some good food, right? And at least everyone  _ seems  _ nice. I mean… they argue a lot, but… they’re teenagers, they’re bound to argue. I just hope no arguments turn into...

My terrible thoughts were thankfully interrupted by a knock on the door. I put the now empty plate on the little dresser and opened the door, revealing Masakage.

Airi: Oh, hi-

Masakage: I came to grab you. Everyone’s finished eating and Nakahara insists we investigate the area. Come on.

Airi: O-Okay!

First, Masakage dragged me up to the third floor, where we met up with Kaoru and Nakahara.

Nakahara: Oh, Airi!! Masakage!! It’s nice seeing you again!!

Masakage: Did you find anything?

Kaoru: So quick for questions! Haha, nope! Just a bunch of empty rooms.

Nakahara: All we found are some empty rooms, and a few locked rooms!! From the outside, they just look like extra empty rooms!

Airi: Why would they be locked, then? 

The two just exchanged glances and shrugged.

Kaoru: The only other thing we found was a door that led to the roof. Nothing up there, though. Less you wanted to push someone off it to leave!

Masakage: That’s odd.

Airi: I-I don’t want to think about murder right now…

Kaoru: Well, a killer would be awfully stupid to do that, now, wouldn’t they?

Masakage: ….

I checked a few of the open rooms, and they were right, they were identical to the normal hotel rooms, just without any specific talent stuff. I even tried to open a few other doors, but they couldn’t be forced open. The only other thing we found up there was a broken ice machine and a few janitor’s closets - one with towels and bath stuff, the other with cleaning supplies. Finally, I checked the door that led to a stairwell up to the roof… there was nothing special up there, though.

Masakage: I think we should explore the park now.

Airi: Yea…

We made our way to the center of the theme park, where there were lines of stands serving different types of food. It was almost uncanny, though, because each stand had a mini MonoNeko wearing a chef’s hat.

There, I found Shuji, Shinobu, and Karishma.

Everything seemed calm, until I saw Shinobu trying to fight one of the chefs.

Shinobu: This demon! Thinks it can cook!

Then an automated voice replied.

Chef MonoNeko: What can I serve you? This stand makes sushi.

Shinobu: Shut up!

Airi: What’s going on here…?

Masakage: Foolish people…

Karishma: It appears there’s ten venues - one for different types of food. This one serves sushi, while the others serve all sorts of things - one for pizza, one for cotton candy, one for popcorn, one for foreign dishes… It’s all weird.

Kaia: Kari is right!!! It’s weeeeeird!!!!

Airi: At least we get some variety?

Karishma: Yea…

Shuji suddenly pushed past Shinobu and took some sushi from the MonoNeko.

Shinobu: What the hell are you doing?!

Shuji: Shut up!

He scarfed down the plate at lightning speed.

Shuji: It’s actually fuckin’ good!

Masakage: I hope it’s poisoned.

Shuji: What?!

Airi: A-Anyway… did you guys find anything else of note?

Kaeishma: Sorry, no… Just a lot of food.

Shuji: Good food!

Masakage: ….

I checked on Shinobu before we left.

Airi: Hey, I heard you were up late in the lobby. Why?

Shinobu: Sorry… Couldn’t sleep. When I can’t sleep I like to cook and eat… but the kitchen was closed, so I just talked to Nakahara. Um, nice girl, I guess.

Airi: That’s, pretty nice, actually.

Shinobu: Uh…. yea?

We just let them be and checked the roller coasters next, where we found Haruo and Nyoko.

Haruo: E-Explain i-it please…

Nyoko: It’s simple! Um… in basic terms - you shouldn’t ride this coaster unless you basically want to shit yourself.

Haruo: H-H-Huh?!

Nyoko then turned her attention to me.

Nyoko: Airi, hi! ….And Fancypants.

Masakage: What were you talking about?

Nyoko: I was just explaining to Haruo here how roller coasters work!

Airi: By saying he would… poop himself?

Nyoko: Well, you should’ve been here for the conversation!

Airi: A-Anyway… Did you guys find anything interesting about the coasters?

Nyoko: Nope. But it seems they’re the only rides here, just three big coasters.

Haruo: H-Haruo a-agrees… I-It’s not a v-very g-good amusement p-p-park.

Masakage: I’d say that’s a good thing.

Haruo just nodded.

Airi: Anyway, Nyoko, I see you’re not with Hansuke.

Nyoko: Yea, Hansu went to look around with Hisaya and Ayaka and them. Not sure what he sees in that crowd but, I don’t know, at least he’s making friends.

Airi: That’s good, right?

Nyoko: Of course it is, heh.

Masakage: ….

We left those two alone and found a large gift shop.

Airi: A… gift shop?

Masakage: Well, it  _ is  _ an amusement park.

We went in and found a group of four - Hansuke, Hisaya, Ayaka, and Riku.

Hisaya was with Hansuke and Riku, while Ayaka was by herself looking at shelves of merchandise.

Hisaya: Please, Hansuke? You’ll look great without your hair covering your face!

Hisaya was leaning down and trying to mess with Hansuke’s hair, but he quickly got defensive.

Hansuke: H-Hey! Don’t touch m’ hair! Looks fine!

Hisaya: But you’ll look just as good as Riku. Why not let me try it?

I looked over at Riku, who did look a bit different - he had his hair pushed out of his face and clipped back with a cute music note hairpin.

Riku: ...I mean… I like feeling pretty….

Was that… a smile? Now that was weird.

Hisaya: Well, we can try that another time!

Hansuke: ….

Airi: Hey, have you guys found anything?

Hansuke took a step away from the other two and got closer to me.

Hansuke: Not much anything of use, y’know? Lots of freaky stuff, though. Lots of cat stuff.

Riku: ...It’s pretty cool… there’s snacks… and t-shirts… and mugs… lots of random stuff…

Hansuke: He’s right, it’s all random. But… cat-themed.

Riku: ...It’d be better… if it was dog-themed… Heh…

Airi: Dog?

Riku: ...Yes…

Masakage: Did you find anything that’s actually helpful?

Riku: ...No…

Hisaya: We only found random objects that we can take, like shirts and miscellaneous goods. Nothing particularly  _ helpful.  _

Masakage: Hm…

I decided to investigate the shelves myself, and they were right. There was nothing of actual use, just everything object under the sun with MonoNeko’s face and color scheme. Shirts, cups, candy, hats, and even cloaks.

I then walked over to Ayaka, who was just idly looking at shelves of MonoNeko candy.

Masakage: What are you looking at?

Ayaka: Ack! Ah, back off!

Masakage: What?

Ayaka: Ah, s-sorry…

Airi: Did you find anything? 

Ayaka: N-No… Just some crappy stuff that we’ll never use. U-Unless you use this stupid mug to bash MonoNeko’s head in.

She picked up a mug and slammed it on the floor, shattering it into a million pieces.

Ayaka: I  _ hate  _ this thing!

???: What was  _ that  _ for?

Airi: Ah!!

I spun my head around and was greeted by MonoNeko.

Masakage: W-Where… Did you come from?

MonoNeko: Upupupu! The door, idiot!

Masakage: Idiot?

Ayaka: A-Are you gonna p-punish me?!

MonoNeko: You? Not now, at least! 

Masakage: Then I’m surprised it took you this long to interrupt our investigation.

MonoNeko: You call  _ this  _ an investigation? There’s not even a dead body!

Ayaka: W-What?!

MonoNeko: Oh, shut up! I’m just here to explain the gift shop to you! You can take whatever you want from here - it may look like useless crap, but a lot of this can aid in murder if you think hard enough!

Airi: What?!

Masakage: …..

MonoNeko: Anyway, I should be messing with more  _ fun  _ people! Bye-bye!

And just like that, he was gone again.

Ayaka: ….

Masakage: ….

Airi: ….

We just decided to leave the gift shop after that. That’s where we found the rest of us, hanging around a large metal gate. There was Mayu, Tohru, and Yoichiro.

We approached the group with Mayu peering through the gate and Tohru staring at a tired Yoichiro.

Tohru: You….

Yoichiro: Hm?

Tohru: You remind me of big bro! And he’s bad…!

Yoichiro: ….What’s that?

Tohru: ….

Airi: What’s going on here…?

Yoichiro: Oh, Miss Yamamoto. Just a simple miscommunication on Miss Ono’s part.

Tohru: M-Miss?!

Masakage: Anyway, have you found anything?

Yoichiro: ...Only this large gate. I’m not sure it leads to the outside, but it looks like there’s rides or something past it. There were a few other gates just like it, but with other attractions past them.

Airi: So the park gets… bigger?

Yoichiro: It would appear so.

Airi: Why not give us the whole park to begin with?

Masakage: MonoNeko probably has his reasons…

Tohru: ….

I decided to walk up to Mayu and see what she was doing.

Mayu: Oh, hello Airi!

Airi: Did you find anything? Do you see what’s past the gate?

Mayu: Looks like some rides. Like a Ferris wheel and stuff. But another has a  _ water park!  _ Gosh, I hope MonoNeko opens that part next!

Masakage: A water park?

Mayu: Yes! O.M.G.! Nakahara could be our lifeguard and it would be so fun!

Masakage: Have you forgotten we are in danger here?

Mayu: Ha, sorry… I just like water parks.

Masakage: ….

Airi: Well, at least we know there’s more to do than ride those terrible coasters?

Mayu: Yea!

Masakage: ….

We just decided to walk away after that. So, that’s the park… So far, at least. What could be on the other side of those gates? Is there an exit in another one of the areas?

I retired to my room for a bit, before I remembered that Masakage had asked me to meet with him in his room at six. Investigating took all day, huh?

I checked the clock  _ \- 6:00.  _ Guess I should head over now.

I made my way to the bright red door with Masakage’s picture on it, and gave it a knock.

Masakage:  _ One moment. _

A few seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing an agitated Masakage.

Masakage: I’m glad you came. Come in.

I stepped inside, and took a quick look around - it was identical to my room, but was filled with que sticks and other billiards equipment. 

He sat on his bed and instructed me to do the same.

Airi: So you… wanted to talk?

Masakage: Mhm. I just wished to meet for a few minutes.

_ Why was he being so… professional? _

Airi: You can lighten up, you know.

Masakage: No, not now. I just wanted to tell you that, out of everyone here, you’re the only sane one, it seems.

Airi: Thanks…?

Masakage: Er, I mean… Just come to me if one of these…  _ heathens  _ give you trouble. You’re a nice girl, I don’t want any of them messing with you - let alone killing you.

Airi: Oh, uh- That’s too nice. Thank you-

Masakage: Just don’t tell anyone I’m telling you this. I don’t trust that most of these kids can refrain from killing. I just want you to be safe.

I gave him a warm smile; and I’ll admit, just having someone to talk to during all this was a relief.

Airi: Well, thanks Masakage! And you can come talk to me whenever!

Masakage: Thanks!

He paused for a moment and turned red. I guess he didn’t mean to say that so enthusiastically. He really was scared, wasn’t he?

Masakage: A-Anyway…

Our conversation from there dissolved into small talk about our talents and families. I didn’t learn much, but Masakage clearly cares about his family. I mean… we all do, but I’ve never heard someone speak so highly of their little siblings. He taught me about the difference between pool and billiards, and I gave him a crash course on sculpting.

...I may have gotten a little carried away ranting about that sort of thing, though.

He told me he had an affinity for cooking, and would like to drop billiards after his time at Hope’s Peak. I told him I was the opposite, about how I yearn to open my own studio.

We even had a lot of things in common - we were geeks for jazz, and actually enjoyed living in the city. 

...It was honestly one of the most fulfilling conversations I’ve had. 

But it was eventually interrupted by a loud knock upon the door.

Nakahara:  _ Hey guys! Open up!! You’re gonna be late for dinner! _

Airi: Is it eight already?!

Masakage: It appears so…

Have we seriously been talking for  _ two hours?! _ Oh my…

We both made our way to the lobby again, collected dinner, and retired to our own rooms.

I even managed to doze off before the cat’s annoying night time announcement.

Surviving students: 16

Airi Yamamoto - Ultimate Sculptor

Ayaka Honda - Ultimate Sword Swallower

Hisaya Yokoyama - Ultimate Geisha

Kaoru Nakahara - Ultimate Lifeguard

Karishma Yoshida - Ultimate Zoologist

Mayu Kobayashi - Ultimate ???

Nyoko Takahashi - Ultimate Physicist

Tohru Ono - Ultimate Virologist

Hansuke Ikeda - Ultimate Storyteller

Haruo Usui - Ultimate Missionary

Kaoru Oshiro - Ultimate Lawyer

Masakage Ueno - Ultimate Billiards Player

Riku Morishita - Ultimate Composer

Shinobu Anzai - Ultimate Karate Master

Shuji Yukimura - Ultimate Guitarist

Yoichiro Fukui - Ultimate Herbalist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first part of chapter one! Hope you enjoyed it. FTEs start next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter of my little fangan! I've had this idea for... goodness, years now, but finally got around to writing it. Hope you enjoy it!


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